What Christ was Doing on the Cross

And we're going to begin now by singing to God's praise in Psalm number 63.

! This is from the Scottish Psalter, Psalm number 63.

It's on page 295 in the Blue Books, and the tune is Weatherby, Psalm 63.

As I have seen thee heretofore within thy holy place, since better is thy love than life,

my lips thee praise shall give. I in thy name will lift my hands and bless thee while I live.

Even as with marrow and with fat my soul shall fill it be.

Then shall my mouth with joyful lips sing praises unto thee.

To the end of verse 8, Psalm 63, verses 1 to 8, and the tune is Weatherby,

Psalms 63:1–8

Lord, thee my God, I'll early see.

Amen.

Let thy heart shines, when no water shines, but thy thy power may behold,

Behold, the brightness of thy face,

as I have seen thee near to forth

within thy holy place.

Since betterness, thy love the night,

my mercy reign shall give.

I give, I give, will end my arms.

I bless thee, my life, I live.

I pass with my,

O angel, my soul shall be let thee,

and shall my love with joyfulness

sing Christmas unto thee.

When I do thee upon my bed,

remember with delight,

and wake on thee,

I meditate,

and watch this all the night.

In shadow, I live, I enjoy,

for thou my help us be.

My soul thee follows hard,

and thee thy light and dust sustain.

Amen.

Let us bow and pray.

Amen.

The psalmist said,

Lord, thee my God,

I'll early seek.

My soul doth thirst for thee.

And we pray that we also

will have that thirsting soul

where we'll be seeking after the living

and through God.

Help us, Lord,

to realize that above all that we need

and all that we should have in this world,

the greatest blessing is to have you

as our Lord and our Savior.

And we pray that you will open our hearts

and open our minds

to discover more of you in the truth.

We give thanks, Lord,

for your word,

because it is truly a lamp to our feet

and a light to our path.

We give thanks, Lord,

for the reality of your truth

and for the way it shows us

so much of who you are

and indeed of who we are ourselves.

And it reveals to us our duties

and our responsibilities before you.

And so we pray for help and grace

that we might walk in your paths.

Because we have to confess, O Lord,

that so often we are wayward.

So often we walk with a limb spiritually.

So often we wander spiritually.

So often, Lord,

we need the good shepherd going out after us.

And so we pray that you will bless

every single one of us here tonight

and that our focus will be entirely upon yourself.

We pray that we may be able to see you

as the great, mighty Lord of heaven and earth,

the one who spoke this very world into existence,

the one who spoke the planetary system,

the one who spoke all things into being.

And we worship you tonight as the great creator God

and the one who has not only brought life

but continues to sustain life.

And the God who rules and overrules all things.

And that we give thanks, Lord,

that even when our world, as we look out,

may appear chaotic,

that there is no chaos with you.

And that you will order and bring things to a conclusion

in your own way and at your own time.

And so we pray that every day that we might live

with an expectant heart,

because one day the Lord will return without any warning.

The word of God tells us to watch and to be ready.

And so we pray that we might have that spirit

and that we might have that eye of faith

looking ever towards the heavens.

We pray that you will bless each and every one of us tonight

as we gather round your word.

And we pray that you will open that word into our hearts,

into our minds,

and that it will go down deep,

that it will affect us.

Forbid, Lord, that we just come here as a sense of duty,

like marking a card and then going away,

that we might come with a genuine desire in our heart

to know more of you,

that there might be a true longing within our heart

to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we pray that we will not be those who simply hear the word

and don't do it.

That we pray, O Lord, that our lives might be lives of faith

and help us to remember that what is not of faith is sin.

And so we pray that faith will govern and guide us

as we focus upon you as we journey through this life.

We pray that you will be merciful to us as we come confessing our sin.

We confess our sins personally, individually,

and we also confess our sin collectively as a body of your people.

And ask for that cleansing and that forgiveness,

which is yours to give and which was achieved by yourself.

And we pray that we might know what it is to be rid of the guilt and the shame that sin brings.

And to have the peace of God that passes all understanding.

And to have the freedom that comes in Jesus Christ.

We pray that you will bless everybody here tonight according to our own individual needs.

We all come with our own issues in life.

And for some people, they might have very sad hearts.

And yet they're hiding it.

For other people, life might be going very well just now.

We're all in different situations with different circumstances.

But we pray, O Lord, that you will help each and every one of us according to our own particular needs.

Bless homes.

Bless families.

Bless husbands and wives.

Bless them.

Bless parents.

Bless children.

Bless grandparents.

Bless those who are so old now and infirm that they are no longer able to get out and about.

And in fact, are now at a stage where they need to be cared for.

We pray that you will be with them.

And we give thanks, Lord, for all the care that we have in this community.

And we give thanks, Lord, for the many blessings that are brought through that.

We pray, Lord, for those who are in hospital.

Those who are unwell.

Those who are maybe waiting for treatment or undergoing it.

Or likewise for surgery.

We pray, Lord, your blessing upon them.

And we give thanks for all that is done for us.

We give thanks for our hospitals and for all that is done in so many different aspects and ways.

And we give thanks, Lord.

Help us always to be giving thanks.

Because so often we can take for granted and just look and say, well, this is what's due us.

This is what's all right.

Help us to remember that everything ultimately comes from your hand.

And so we pray that we might have thankful hearts.

And that we might not be slow in giving the Lord thanks for all the many blessings that we receive from you.

Pray to bless all the different activities of this congregation.

As there will be a return to school tomorrow.

And return to all the activities.

We pray your blessing upon all that is done.

Those who commit week by week and month by month to the ongoing work that takes place.

We give thanks for them, for their willingness, and for their love for you.

We pray that you'll bless them.

Bless all who attend from the senior fellowship right all the way down to the creche.

And ask your blessing upon them.

We pray your blessing upon our young ones growing up.

And a day full of challenges.

Yes, opportunities.

But a very different day to the day even when we grew up ourselves.

And so we pray for them.

And you will bless them.

Bless all the instruction that they receive at home.

And the instruction that they receive in Sunday school.

And the youth fellowship.

And at the various clubs.

We ask, Lord, your blessing upon them.

We pray that you will bless teachers as they go back.

And pray safety upon the pupils.

We pray that you will be with us nationally and internationally.

Pray your blessing upon our leaders.

And ask, Lord, that you will grant them divine wisdom.

Even if they don't acknowledge you.

Even if they don't look for it.

But it is our duty.

Our duty to pray for our King.

It's our duty to pray for those in authority over us.

And so we pray for them.

Because if they don't pray, then who's going to pray?

And so we pray that that wisdom from above will be given to lead us in the right way.

We pray for truth to prevail.

And we pray that you will raise up your people into places of position of prominence and authority.

And so that their witness will be a good one in the day that we live.

We pray for peace on earth.

Oh, Lord, how we long.

That nations would lay down their arms so that conflict would cease.

And we realize that in so many parts of this world, right now, people are living in fear.

People are so apprehensive.

They don't know what the next moment is going to bring.

We don't understand that, where we live.

We give thanks for the safety and security we enjoy here.

But it's not like that for many people in this world.

There's so much suffering, bloodshed, hatred, violence.

Oh, Lord, we long for a day when that violence will cease.

And people will be able to live side by side, one with another.

And it is really only in and through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, where that radical, powerful change can take place.

And so we pray for the spread of your word globally tonight.

And we pray that many will come under the sound of the gospel.

And that many will respond to the gospel.

And so we pray your blessing upon your word, wherever it is preached throughout the nations of this world.

We pray your blessing on the 40th reunion that took place.

And we give thanks for these times along the way, where there's a time of meeting up together, time of reflecting,

often time too of sadness of those who are no longer part of the group.

And we pray your blessing upon them.

And we give thanks, Lord, for the friendships that we make in life.

Often school friends become lifelong friends.

And we give thanks, Lord, for the way that these things enhance and enrich our lives.

Watch over us then as we wait upon you.

And take away from us our every sin.

In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen.

We're going to sing again from Psalm 32.

And this is in Sing Psalms, Psalm 32.

We're going to sing verses 1 to 7.

It's on page 38 of the Tunis Arlington.

Psalm 32.

Psalm 32.

Psalm 32.

Verses 1 to 7.

How blessed the one who has received forgiveness for a sin, whose sins are covered from God's face,

whose debt is cancelled in God's grace.

There's no deceit in him.

Psalm 32.

When I kept silent, all my bones with groaning were worn out.

Beneath your hand I felt entrapped.

Both day and night my strength was sapped, as in a summer drought.

Then I laid bare my sin to you, the guilt that lay within.

I said, O Lord, I have transgressed.

And you forgave when I confessed.

You pardoned all my sin.

Psalm 32, verses 1 to 7.

Psalms 32:1–7

The Tunis Arlington.

How blessed are the one who has received forgiveness for his sin.

How blessed are the one who has received forgiveness for all his sin, whose sins are covered from God's face,

whose death is God's face, whose death is God's face, whose death is God's face,

whose death is cancelled in God's face, whose death is cancelled in God's face,

whose death is cancelled in God's face,

Death is counseled in God's grace.

There's no deceit in heaven.

When I kept silent all my wounds,

With rolling weather worn out,

Beneath your hand I felt a child.

O day and night my strength was soft,

Out in the summer cold.

Then I leave my sin to you,

The guilt that me within.

I said, O Lord, I love God's grace,

And you for me claim I confess,

You pardon all my sins.

So let the glory pray to you,

While you are to be found.

Surely when waves are singing past,

And mighty waters rising fast,

You keep them safe and sound.

You are my hiding place,

O Lord, my true security.

You keep me safe in troubled days,

You circle me with joyful grace,

When you have set me free.

Let's turn to read God's word now,

In Paul's letter to the Corinthians,

2nd Corinthians, and chapter 5.

2nd Corinthians, chapter 5.

And we'll read the chapter.

For we know that if the tent,

Which is our earthly home,

Is destroyed,

We have a building from God,

A house not made with hands,

Eternal in the heavens.

For in this tent we groan,

Longing to put on our heavenly dwelling,

If indeed by putting it on,

We may not be found naked.

For while we are still in this tent,

We groan, being burdened,

Not that we would be unclothed,

But that we would be further clothed,

So that what is mortal

May be swallowed up by life.

He who has prepared us

For this very thing is God,

Who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

So we are always of good courage.

We know that while we are at home in the body,

We are away from the Lord.

For we walk by faith,

Not by sight.

Yes, we are of good courage,

And we would rather be away from the body,

And at home with the Lord.

So, whether we are at home or away,

We make it our aim to please Him.

For we must all appear

Before the judgment seat of Christ,

So that each one may receive what is due,

For what he has done in the body,

Whether good or evil.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord,

We persuade others.

But what we are is known to God,

And I hope it is known also to your conscience.

We are not commending ourselves to you again,

But giving you cause to boast about us,

So that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance,

And not about what is in the heart.

For if we are beside ourselves,

It is for God.

If we are in our right mind,

It is for you.

For the love of Christ controls us,

Because we have concluded this,

That one has died for all,

Therefore all have died.

And he died for all,

That those who live might no longer live for themselves,

But for him,

Who for their sake died and was raised.

From now on, therefore,

We regard no one according to the flesh.

Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh,

We regard him thus no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

He is a new creation.

The old has passed away,

Behold, the new has come.

All this is from God,

Who through Christ reconciled us to himself,

And gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

That is, in Christ,

God was reconciling the world to himself,

Not counting their trespasses against them,

And entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,

God making his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ,

Be reconciled to God.

For our sake he made him to be sin,

Who knew no sin,

So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Amen.

And may God bless to us this reading of his own holy word.

I'm going to sing again now in Psalm 73,

From the Scottish Psalter.

Psalm 73,

From verse 23,

To the end,

And the tune is Tiverton.

Psalm 73,

At verse 23,

Page 316.

Nevertheless,

O Lord,

I am with thee.

Thou dost me hold by my right hand,

And still upholdest me.

Thou with thy counsel,

While I live,

Wilt me conduct and guide.

And to thy glory afterward,

Receive me to abide.

Whom have I in the heavens high,

But thee, O Lord, alone?

And in the earth whom I desire,

Besides thee there is none.

My flesh and heart doth faint and fail,

But God doth fail me never.

For of my heart God is a strength,

And a portion forever.

Verses 23 to 28,

Psalm 73,

Nevertheless,

Continually.

Nevertheless,

Continually,

O Lord,

I am with thee.

Thou dost me hold by my right hand,

And still upholdest me.

Thou with thy counsel,

Orth voyque voyque

The heaven's sight, but thee, O Lord, alone.

Hath in the earth, through thy desire,

besides thee there is none.

My flesh and heart doth inch and veil,

but God doth veil me never.

For of my heart God is the strength

and portion forever.

For, O they that are far from thee,

forever perish shall,

they plant a holding from thee, O

the past destroyed all.

But surely it is good for thee,

that I draw near to all.

And, O I just, that all my words

I may declare abroad.

Let's turn back again to the chapter we read

in 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

And it's a fairly long section,

so I'm not going to read it all,

but from verse 14.

And I'm not going into every verse of it

or every aspect of it,

but just looking at it quite simply.

For the love of Christ controls us,

because we have concluded this,

that one has died for all,

therefore all have died.

And he died for all,

that those who live might no longer

live for themselves,

but for him who for their sake

died and was raised.

And then in verse 18,

we read,

all this is from God,

who through Christ reconciled us

to himself

and gave us the ministry

of reconciliation.

That is, in Christ,

God was reconciling the world

to himself.

Verse 20,

therefore we are ambassadors for Christ,

God making his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ,

be reconciled to God.

For our sake he made him to be sin

who knew no sin,

that in him we might become

the righteousness of God.

Now we know that Paul was a man

who was on a mission,

and Paul loved the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul lived for the Lord Jesus Christ,

and Paul in the end

was going to lay down his life

for the Lord Jesus Christ.

And he tells us here

that it is the love of Christ

that controls him,

or as we have in the AV,

constrains him.

And that was very true

in Paul's life.

This was the driving force.

This is what propelled him on.

This is what gave the impetus

to his life,

this sense of the love of Christ.

Of what God had done in Christ for Paul,

and what God in Christ was doing for Paul.

And if you're a believer tonight,

you can echo the same,

that what God has done for you in Christ,

and what God is doing for you in Christ.

And Paul sees this amazing love

in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And when Paul talks about

the death of Jesus Christ,

he isn't just talking about

a historical fact.

You know, quite often people,

they will talk about

the death of Jesus,

and they will say that,

yes, Jesus died on a cross.

And they will think of Jesus' death

no more than any other person

who was maybe executed.

And they will say,

well, he was either hung,

or he was crucified,

or he was beheaded,

or whatever.

And it's a historical fact.

And they think about it like that.

And there's others

who might go a little further on,

and they might say,

well, Jesus Christ was

a really quite remarkable person.

His teaching was so extraordinary,

and his moral life was beyond blemish

in any shape or form.

And he died the way he lived,

a life of just self-sacrifice.

And he died for what he taught.

And a lot of people look at it

just like that,

and they say,

he left a great example for us.

That's not how Paul is looking at it,

and neither should we.

Because Paul is looking at why he died.

What was taking place on the cross

as he died.

Because that is at the very heart

of what Christianity really is all about.

And that is why Paul,

he says earlier on in Corinthians,

for I decided to know nothing among you

except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And that was a great message

of all the early church,

was preaching Jesus Christ

and him crucified.

And when they talked and preached that,

it was what took place,

and what that involved,

and what it was for us as well.

So what was Christ doing on the cross?

Well, there's two or three things

that we can see.

Well, one of them,

if we go right to the end,

we see this word righteousness,

that we might become

the righteousness of God.

So, an incredible transaction

took place on the cross.

Because the problem for all of us

is that we don't have righteousness ourselves.

The Bible tells us

what a righteousness is like.

It's like filthy rags.

You know, sometimes when you're in the city,

you sometimes see a poor,

down and out,

a poor beggar in a doorway.

And they're looking utterly

and absolutely disheveled.

Their clothes are torn.

Their face is dirty.

And you say,

oh, what a poor soul that is.

Well, with regard to our righteousness,

that's how it is in God's sight.

Not one of us

is able to say to the Lord,

because I've done this,

because I've done that,

I have a claim upon you.

And that's really hard for us

to get hold of.

Because we cling,

it's very hard to uncover

self-righteousness.

And it's very hard

for self-righteousness to be broken.

Because we kind of judge one another.

And a lot of people will say,

they look around and they say,

well, I know I'm not perfect.

I know I would never dare

to say I'm perfect.

But I'm a pretty decent citizen.

Never done anything

drastically wrong.

And sometimes you look at somebody

and you say,

oh, see what he did,

see what she did.

I would never have done that.

And so we kind of,

we puff ourselves up.

That's a self-righteousness.

It's very judgmental self-righteousness.

But it's within us all.

It's part of who we are.

It's part of what we are.

And we somehow think

at the end of the day,

the Lord will say,

well, I know that you're not perfect.

And I know that,

but it's going to be all right.

No, it doesn't.

It's not.

That's not the way it works.

God says that,

as we said,

oh, right, you're right.

There is none righteous.

No, not one.

In the whole wide world,

ever,

there's not one

that has ever been righteous.

And because we are unrighteous,

it means that we are guilty

before God.

that we have no place of protection,

that we have no shelter,

because we're under,

Scripture tells us,

under God's wrath,

because of our unrighteousness.

But on the cross,

God was doing something amazing.

It was like,

people describe it

like in a bookkeeping term.

And you have,

on the one side,

you have all the wrongs.

And there's all your sin,

past, present, future.

All recorded.

Everything you've said,

everything you've done,

everything you've ever thought.

It's all there.

And on the other page

is Christ's righteousness.

And on the cross,

a transfer was taking place.

Where all our sin

was being placed

to Christ's account.

That's what he was experiencing

through the abandonment

and forsakenness

when God's wrath

was being poured upon him.

For our sin.

But more than that,

Christ's righteousness

has been placed

to our account.

It's not that all of a sudden

we become perfect

and altogether righteous.

But in legal terms,

as God looks on us,

once you become a believer,

God looks at you

through Jesus.

And as he looks at you

through Jesus,

he sees the perfect

righteousness of his Son.

And so you're accepted

because of what Jesus Christ

has done.

And so there's this

incredible transaction

taking place on the cross.

And sometimes it's hard

for us to understand that

and to understand

that we are as righteous

as we will ever be

in God's sight.

There's another level,

of course,

we know with regard

to our ongoing sin

and such like.

But in legal terms,

that's how it is.

But another thing

was taking place

on the cross

and we see that

in verses 18 and 19

because it tells us here

that God,

through Christ,

reconciled us to himself.

Verse 19,

in Christ,

God was reconciling

the world to himself.

Because you see,

by nature,

we're alienated from God.

God,

we're estranged from God.

That's our default position.

We don't want God.

We're ignorant of God.

God,

don't care about God.

I suppose if you went

around Stornway tonight

and you did a survey,

there'd be a lot of people

who would say,

I don't believe in God.

I never think about God.

I don't care about God.

And people often find

that God's word,

when they hear it,

they find that

his word is intolerable

and that his law

is distasteful.

And they say,

no,

I don't want this.

As we're hearing this morning,

we want our life

and we don't want anything

cutting across our life.

And that's so true.

That's the way we are by nature.

It's my life

and I will live it my way

and I'm not in any way ready

to live my life

with somebody else ruling,

somebody else on the throne

of my heart.

It's mine.

Me.

Mine.

And so,

by nature,

we are alienated.

We're strangers to God.

We're at enmity.

We're told in Scripture

that the haters of God,

who is the Lord,

it says in Scripture,

that we should obey him.

Also, remember what it says,

we will not have this man

rule over us.

So, you see,

there's this alienation

which needs reconciliation.

So, reconciliation is essential,

but here's the thing.

It's not just us

that have to be reconciled to God,

but God has to be reconciled to us.

And that's a serious thing.

Why?

Because, well,

we know the story in Genesis 3.

We know what happened.

We remember the story of the fall,

of how Adam and Eve disobeyed God.

And how do we find Adam and Eve after that?

We find them outside the garden.

How did they end up outside the garden?

Did they get lost?

Did they sort of wander out?

And did Adam turn to Eve and say,

oh, you know,

we've gone outside the garden here.

We'll have to try and get back in.

No.

What did God do?

He drove them out of the garden.

He expelled them.

And more than that,

there was an angel with a flaming sword

barring their way back in,

lest they come to the tree of life.

So, from that moment on,

we need reconciliation with God,

but God has to be reconciled to us as well.

Because God is against us.

His wrath is against us.

We're told that in Romans,

that the wrath of God

is revealed from heaven

against all ungodliness.

As we say,

that's a default position.

You know,

it's a grim situation.

But that's how it is.

And that's the wonder

of what has happened here.

That there's reconciliation.

And the wonderful thing is

that God,

the God who has been wronged,

is the author

of this reconciliation.

reconciliation.

Now,

usually when we think

of reconciliation

in human terms,

in our everyday thing,

we always talk about negotiation.

Supposing it's just

within a family,

supposing there's a breakup

in a family,

there's,

you try and,

and you need,

you need both parties

coming together.

You'll often see it

in employment,

in work.

And you'll see that

the workers

and the management

have reached an impasse.

And often you'll find

there's a strike

takes place.

Because neither side

will agree.

And there's an ongoing strike.

And then all of a sudden

you see,

oh,

there's talks taking place.

There's negotiation.

And when there's negotiation

taking place,

there's always hope

that there'll be

an outcome,

a good outcome.

We see it again

in global conflicts.

And we've seen it

with the likes of Ukraine

and in Gaza.

And you're saying,

just it's ongoing.

And then you hear

there might be talks.

And there's always this hope.

Oh,

the moment people start talking,

you're saying,

well,

hopefully,

hopefully this will bring

a solution.

Hopefully we'll get

things together.

Is that how it was

with us and God?

No.

Because we couldn't

negotiate with God.

We had nothing

to negotiate with.

We couldn't even

approach God.

So this is the

extraordinary thing

that God

is the one.

He is the initiator

of it.

God is the one

who has

initiated

and that was what

Christ was doing

on the cross.

However,

there were negotiations.

And the negotiations

that took place

with regard to

reconciliation

took place in heaven.

because Christ,

the Son of God,

entered into a covenant

with God the Father.

So the negotiation

for the reconciliation

took place in heaven

where the Son

agreed to come

in our nature.

Think of it.

The Son of God,

the one who is equal

in power and glory

to the Father,

took our nature,

became one with us

to be our representative

in this world

in order to

reconcile us

to God the Father.

And so all this

was taking place

on the cross

where God was

reconciling us

to himself

through the work

of Christ.

And again,

when you think

of the cross

and you think

of these hours

of desolation

and isolation

and abandonment

for Christ,

what was he suffering?

Right?

Try and turn this

personally.

And you think,

try and say to you,

right,

for the next three hours,

I'm going to list

every wrong deed

that I have done

that I can remember.

and I'm going

to write it down.

And I'm going

to write down

everything wrong

that I said.

And you're writing

down things

that you're ashamed of,

things that embarrassed

you,

things that you felt

real guilt about,

things that you

were remorseful about,

and you so wish

that you had never

said them

or never done them.

And what about

our thoughts?

Imagine if there's

a big screen here

at the back of the pulpit.

And every thought

that you thought

was screened up there.

Every thought.

And when you think

of all the filth

and the anger

and the murder,

every commandment

is breached

in our mind.

Every single one.

Can you imagine

the shame

and embarrassment

and the sense

of guilt

we would have

if it was all

screened

for everybody

to see,

I don't think

we'd ever come

out of the house

again.

Well, on the cross,

Christ was bearing

all our guilt,

all our shame,

all our embarrassment,

all the defilement

of our sin

and our iniquity,

everything.

and he was enduring

the Father's wrath

upon him

for our sin.

It's that personal

because sometimes

we look at it

in an abstract way.

But this was personal,

right on.

And there was nothing

for Christ

but silence.

He couldn't hear

the walk of the Father

or the talk of the Father,

just his anger.

And this is what

he was doing

for us

in order that

we can be reconciled.

What was

keeping us away

had to be removed.

And of course,

it is the work then

of the Holy Spirit

to apply

that to our hearts.

And that is what

Paul talks about

in verse 17.

Therefore,

if anyone

is in Christ,

he is a new creation.

The old has passed away

because the new

has come.

And that's exactly

what happens

when we come to faith.

It's a new creation.

Every bit as powerful

and as awesome

as the original creation.

At the very start,

God said,

let there be light.

And there was a day

God said

into your heart,

let there be light.

And you saw

in a way

you never saw before.

You saw the way

of salvation.

You saw Christ

as your Savior.

And

everything changed

because you have

new desires,

new aims,

new ambitions,

new hopes.

The Word of God,

you might have been used

to reading the Bible,

but it was maybe

just out of habit

or out of duty.

But now this book

has become precious

to you.

And every day

you go to it

because it gives you

food for your soul,

gives you nourishment,

gives you light.

it sets out

before you

the whole future

of what's ahead

for you.

This book is just

the most amazing book

in the world.

And that is because

you are now

a new creation.

And this is all part

of what the Lord

has done for us,

what God was doing

for us

in Christ Jesus.

And so because of this,

now there's lots of things

we could look at,

but because of this,

it tells us now

that we are ambassadors

for Christ.

Prior to that,

it tells us

that we no longer

live for ourselves,

but we live

for Christ.

That'll tell you

exactly tonight

where you are.

Who do you live for?

Is it yourself?

Or is it for Christ?

You know that

sometimes we fear

that we're not living

for Christ

in the way

that we should.

But you know,

one of the things

that makes it so clear

to us is,

you know when you

do anything wrong

or say wrong

or you think wrong,

what's your immediate thought?

I'm letting Christ down.

It's not letting yourself down.

There was a day

you only thought

about letting yourself down.

You never thought

about the Lord.

Oh, I've let myself

down badly here.

That's not the way

you think now.

You say,

oh Lord,

have mercy on me.

Oh, forgive me Lord.

I shouldn't have said that.

I shouldn't have done that.

What on earth

has been going on

in my head?

Because you're living

for Christ.

You see,

it's all changed.

That's the way you live.

Every day,

you're living

not for yourself,

but you're living

for Christ.

But we're told here

that we are ambassadors.

Ambassadors.

Therefore,

we are ambassadors

for Christ.

God making

his appeal

through us.

Isn't that amazing?

All of us.

God is making

an appeal

through us.

Now,

an ambassador,

as you know,

is somebody

who represents

king and country.

And when an ambassador

goes to a certain place,

he's not there

in any way

or shape

or form

to represent himself.

He's not there

for his own glory,

his own honor.

It's got nothing

to do with him.

It's all got to do

with the king

and the country

that he represents.

So it is for you

and for me.

It's not about us.

It's all about

the Lord.

The ambassador

has to be

absolutely faithful

to the message

that he or she

brings.

Not at liberty

to add to it.

Not at liberty

to detract

from it.

Neither are we.

We're not at liberty

to say,

well,

you might say,

well,

this is a rather

strong message.

This is a bit hard.

This might make people

feel uncomfortable.

I'd better water it down

a bit.

We're not at liberty

to do that.

This is God's word.

This is God's message.

And it has to be,

it's a message

that has to be delivered

faithfully

and honorably.

Some people want

a kind of a pick-and-mix Bible.

I'll take this bit

and this bit,

but oh,

that's too harsh.

I'm not having anything

to do with that.

No.

We've got to be honest

and faithful

with everything.

But you'll also notice

what it says.

We appeal.

God is making

his appeal through us.

We implore you

on behalf of Christ

to be reconciled

to God.

Implore.

When we're preaching

or when we're witnessing,

it's not just sort of a,

well,

it's not a lecture.

It's not a,

well,

here it is,

I'm going to tell you

a few things.

This is serious stuff.

We're dealing with

the most important thing

in our life,

our soul,

our future,

our destiny.

And that is why,

you see,

the Lord is,

you can almost see

a desperation

in the Lord

that the word of God

will go out

and that people will hear.

Because it's only here

in this world

that this message

is proclaimed,

not proclaimed in heaven.

Everybody in heaven

has heard the message

and responded to it.

It's not proclaimed

in hell

because the day

of the good news

is over,

the day of opportunity

is gone.

Sadly,

there will be many

in hell

who heard the message

and they will,

throughout an endless

eternity,

wish that they

responded to it.

But it's too late.

It's a fearful thought.

And so there is

this urgency

about it all.

And in fact,

further back,

Paul says,

we have to

implore people

on behalf of Christ.

Why?

Because,

verse 10,

for we must all

appear before

the judgment seat

of Christ

so that each one

may receive

what is due

for what he has done

in the body,

whether good or evil.

Now,

there's a lot of,

there's a lot in that.

But there's one thing

I'm just going to say

just now.

We've got to remember

that sitting on

the great white throne

will be

the Son of God,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

in all his majesty

and in his glory.

And I'll have to,

tonight,

I will have to stand there

and answer

for tonight.

Was I faithful?

Was I in any way

seeking my own honour

or own glory?

Was I absolutely faithful

to the message

that was given?

You will have to give

an account

for what you did with it.

Did you accept

or did you reject?

And if you reject,

you're telling Jesus,

the one who tonight

is offering you

himself,

I chose to reject you.

Well,

it's solemn

because if you reject

Jesus,

what's the outcome?

He rejects you.

depart

from me.

Imagine these,

the final words

ever hearing

from Christ.

Depart

from me.

And so it's important

that you respond

to this message

because all the doing

has been done.

The reconciliation

has taken place.

God

initiated,

Christ

did it,

and it's there

ready for you

tonight.

All you have to do

is ask him

into your life

to accept him

and to believe.

It's as simple

as that.

And the moment

you do,

you become

a new creation

where you're able

to see

and to believe

and understand

in a way

that you never

did before.

Let us pray.

Lord our God,

we pray to bless us.

We give thanks

for this message

that we have,

a message

that is often

weighty,

a message

that is wonderful.

And we pray

that we may

respond to it

in a right way.

Our days

are short.

One day

our time

of opportunity

will be no more.

Lord,

and it won't be long

until all of us

will be standing

before that

great white throne.

Oh Lord,

have mercy upon us.

Take us all

to our homes safely.

Pray to bless

this congregation.

We pray your blessing

on Calamurdo

and Joanne

and family

at this time

of a wee break

for them.

May they have

recharging

and renewing

in themselves.

We pray for Colin

the Inter Moderator,

ask your blessing

upon him as well.

And pray, Lord,

that you will direct us

and lead us

as a congregation,

lead us forward

in the right way.

As the psalmist said,

show me thy ways,

O Lord.

We pray that that

might be

our prayer collectively.

Show us

your ways,

O Lord.

Take away from us

our sin,

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

We're going to

conclude singing

in Psalm 126.

And this is

in Sing Psalm,

Psalm 126.

I'm going to sing

the whole psalm.

And the tune is

Denfield.

And there we have

a picture of

going out

mourning,

going out with tears

of grief,

bearing the seed,

sowing the seed,

because sowing the seed

can be hard.

But there's a great

encouragement

coming back

with songs of joy

bearing harvest sheaf.

Psalm 126.

When Zion's fortunes

God restored,

it was a dream

come true.

Our mouths

were then

with laughter

filled,

our tongues

with songs

anew.

The nation said,

the Lord has done

great things

for Israel.

The Lord did

mighty things

for us.

Enjoy our hearts

new will.

Restore our fortunes,

gracious Lord,

like streams

in desert soil.

A joyful harvest

will reward

the weeping

sower's toil.

1, 2, 6,

a whole psalm

to the tune

Denfield.

Amen.

When Zion's fortunes

God restored,

it was a dream

come true.

Our mouths

were then

with laughter

filled,

our tongues

with songs

anew.

The nations

say,

the Lord

has done

great things

for Israel.

the Lord

in mighty

things

for us

and joy

and hearts

new will.

Restore our fortunes,

gracious Lord,

like streams

in desert soil.

A joyful harvest

will reward

the weeping

sower's toil.

singing,

singing,

singing,

Let your heavenly singing,

grace, mercy, and peace of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rest and abide upon each one of you

now and forevermore. Amen. I'll go to the door on my right.

Amen.